A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

When Will Justice Really Be Served?

Victim's mother - Photo credit: James Keivom/N.Y. Daily News

"What this monster of an animal did to our precious
diamond is unforgivable," she said. "How many children's life will be
ruined?"

So said the mother of a victim of sex abuse (at age 12 for
about a year’s duration) after his abuser, Meir Descalawitz, was sentenced
to a five year prison term. That was the result of a plea agreement. This
means that he will likely be released in 2 and a half years.

I don’t know whether justice has really been served here. A child’s life has been ruined. And his family who brought Descalawitz to whatever justice he received has paid a
high price for it. In a very short 2 and a half years this man will be out on
the streets again, free to abuse other children.

Although I’m sure he will have to register as a sex offender
- that does not likely prevent a pedophile from trying to seek new prey to satisfy his urges. Where there is a will – there is a way.

Descalawitz is a Pupa Chasid. It always gets me
when I see how Chasidic communities like Pupa treat these situations. I know
nothing about Pupa Chasidus. But is is obvious to me that their reaction to the
victim was very similar to Satmar’s reaction to sex abuse victims in their
community. Here is the victim impact statement – read right before the
sentencing:

"I will never forgive to you for the things you did to
me," the now 17-year-old boy wrote in a letter read in Brooklyn Supreme
Court. "You ruined my life."

"I have been hurt and this hurt will continue
throughout my life," the victim continued, revealing that he had been
kicked out of school and lost friends after reporting the abuse to authorities.

The victim is not the only one suffering the repercussions of this. As I said his family has suffered too. From the New York Daily News:

Mordechai Jungreis was shunned by his ultra-Orthodox Hasidic
community for reporting his son’s sexual abuse…
A Brooklyn father who's been ostracized from his Hasidic community
because he reported his son's sexual abuse claimed victory Thursday after the
man who violated the teenage boy pleaded guilty...

The dad described enormous pressure from his insular
ultra-Orthodox community: He was kicked out of his apartment, his kids were
expelled from private school, and the family was shunned, all because he filed
a police report on a fellow Jew.

"What we went through is unbelievable… the torture,"
he said. "But I didn't give up."

He didn’t give up. And he felt justice had been served. I
guess a small victory is still a victory. The question is, will anyone in his community ever
have the courage to do this again? This community is so opposed to Mesirah (
I assume that was at least part of the reason they reacted this way)
that they destroy lives over it. They seem to feel that the reputation of
the community is paramount.

Sex abuse exists in every community. The religious affiliation
or fervor of any given group does not seem to affect their percentages of victims
and victimizers. Based on media coverage of this very sad phenomenon, it is
evident that when any community is confronted with accusations of abuse – self preservation
kicks into gear. Where accusations of abuse are made - the primary focus of its
officials is on how to protect their own interests.

The first inclination is to deny and/or cover-up. If that
doesn’t work they try and put a positive spin on how they are handling it. It
doesn’t seem to matter if it is the Catholic Church, a major secular university, a Modern Orthodox University,
a Kiruv group, a Charedi Yeshiva, or a Chasidic enclave. The reactions of all
these groups tend to follow the same pattern of self preservation at the
expense of the victim.

Although there has been improvement to one degree or another in
almost all these institutions they still have a long way to go. I say
almost, because I cannot include Chasidic communities like Satmar, Ger, and now
Pupa. This can be seen by how this victim and his father were treated by their Pupa
community. Not to mention how Satmar treated Weberman’s victims. Or how Ger has
protected Mondrowitz.

I don’t see how this can be explained in any other way. The reputation
of the group supersedes the welfare of the individual. These Chasidic
communities seem to take this attitude to the max. They are ready to destroy lives over
it. Going to almost any length to preserve their reputations. This approach is probably also
a function of disbelief and religious convictions:

Respectable people can’t possibly be doing this. A victim
who has goes OTD (off the Derech) lacks credibility. How can they now believe someone who has
gone OTD and thereby harbors resentment toward the community they now reject? They accuse OTD victims of lying because
of an anti religious agenda out to destroy them.

It never occurs to them that the cause of someone going OTD
is the very fact that they were abused and the way the community reacts to them. As in dismissing the pain of victims (like telling them to just get over it!) and
sweeping it all under the rug.

Their isolationism probably means they have no clue about
the high incidence of depression and suicide attempts by victims of abuse. They
never heard of Motty Borger who jumped to his death on the morning following
his wedding night. Or if they did hear of him - deny that sex abuse had anything
to do with that.

They certainly don’t trust what any secular experts has to
say on the subject. And if someone goes to the police??? Well, that’s Mesirah - the biggest
crime of all!

Based on this kind of thinking one can understand their
reactions. But one cannot justify them. The repercussions of that are too
great. Communities like Satmar, Ger, and
Pupa cling to the notions that sex abuse is best handled internally. Which usually
means that in far too many cases abusers will be allowed to live their lives
with impunity; victims will continue to be sacrificed for the greater good of
the community; and the number of victims will surely increase.

The approach to sex abuse in communities like this ought not
be swept under the rug. It must not be hidden from the public eye. It ought to
be exposed and condemned every time it happens until such time that public pressure
will have an impact on them… and they are finally brought into the 21st century. At least on the subject of sex
abuse. I think we have enough victims already.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.